Shona M’gadzah (she/her) is an emerging lighting designer and programmer based between Scotland and London, working across theatre, dance, fashion, live events, and club environments. With a growing portfolio of design and technical credits, her practice is grounded in both creativity and collaboration.

In addition to her design work, Shona is passionate about education and outreach. She has held various training roles, designing and delivering technical theatre programmes for next generation of those passionate about backstage theatre.

She is a Youth Trustee for the National Youth Theatre (NYT), having first joined through their Lighting, Video & Projections Backstage Intake Course in 2022. Since then, she has been involved in a range of NYT projects, including Company Managing the Backstage Intake Courses and assisting on the Digital Accelerator - a joint partnership with Microsoft. In 2025, she was a speaker at the inaugural SXSW London, where she co-led a workshop on AI and the future of live theatre alongside other creatives, providing video design for the session.

Her recent credits include Lighting Designer for Jekyll & Hyde and Little Women (Byre Theatre), Associate Lighting Designer for Snow White (Camberley Theatre) and Side by Side by Sondheim (Byre Opera), and Lighting Trainee on National Theatre of Scotland’s Maggie & Me.

Shona is a recent graduate of the University of St Andrews, where she was awarded both the Cedric Thorpe Davie Memorial Prize for outstanding contribution to musical drama and the Sandy Mackenzie Award, given to a student who has gone above and beyond in their involvement with the Students’ Association. She was also the winner of the Profile Award for the 2025 Student Virtual Lighting Design Competition .